Vestrahorn Mountain and Black Sand Dunes in Iceland in Black and White
by Alexios Ntounas
Title
Vestrahorn Mountain and Black Sand Dunes in Iceland in Black and White
Artist
Alexios Ntounas
Medium
Photograph
Description
Vestrahorn is a breathtaking mountain in south-east Iceland. You will find it in Stokksnes Peninsula, close to the town of Höfn. To get to Vestrahorn you will have to drive about six hours from Reykjavík and therefore it is most often visited by those travelling the South Coast of Iceland or are on a road trip around the ring road of the island. On the Ring Road drive east past Höfn and after around 7km, just before reaching the tunnel, turn right onto an unmarked gravel road. Follow this road for around 5 km and you will have reached the black sand beach of Vestrahorn. Keep in mind though that since Vestrahorn is on private land you will have to pay a fee to get there!
Vestrahorn is a quite wild and remote location. It is made out of iron and magnesium rich gabbro rock, which leads to its dark and jagged appearance. Vestrahorn translates to “West Mountain” due to its proximity to the similar Eystrahorn, or “East Mountain”. Its dramatic peaks reach up to 454 meters (1490 ft). The mountain rises behind a beautiful black sand beach with sand dunes scattered all around.
You might ask what time of the year is best to visit Vestrahorn. No matter whether you visit this place in Autumn, Winter or Summer it has a lot to offer for sure. If you are a photographer this iconic mountain could be described as a playground since there are so many different compositions to choose from! If you are lucky and there is no wind you will also be able to see the reflection of Vestrahorn into the calm ocean water. No wonder why this is such a famous tourist location.
In this photo you can see a golden sunrise at Vestrahorn mountain in Stokksnes, Iceland. The sunlight hits the snowy mountain peaks and the black sand dunes! A few clouds are filling the blue sky. The morning sun found a small opening between the clouds and casts warm light into the scene. The peaks of the mountain remain in the shadows though. Maybe the snow the fell last night will last a little bit longer!
Totally worth it waking up in the middle of the night and driving there in sub zero temperatures since we were greeted with such an epic sunrise!
A colored version of this photo is available in my Iceland collection.
Uploaded
December 29th, 2021
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Comments (13)
William Dunigan
Wow, such a moody photograph. Love the high contrast with such deep shadows really making everything in the light pop. Awesome dark clouds too!
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